revision

Oops. It turns out that no one knew what the purple cutout in the bow was. Thanks to Photoshop, I have now fixed it.
In case it is still not clear, this mouse lives in the wreath and she has cut fabric out of the bow on the wreath to make herself a dress. Let me know if this is still just a big mess.

with or without snow?

Sometimes it's hard to decide whether or not to add snow to my illustrations. Most of the time I like a painting better with it, but this time, those who have seen it so far prefer it without. What do you think?

with snow. . .
without. . .

Happy Birthday Julia

My friend Julia and I spent the day together yesterday as parent volunteers on a field trip to Fort Ticonderoga. I am not sure I would have chosen to spend my birthday that way, but it was a beautiful day, and the kids were great. The foliage was perfect, and from the fort, which was set up high on a rise beside Lake Champlain, we could see for miles. Happy Birthday Julia!

Mary Had a Little Lamb

A little reader for this sweet nursery rhyme:

Great news!

October 1st, Kirkus reviewed our new book Ten on the Sled! It's such exciting news. Thank you Kirkus. I hope this book now finds its way into the hands of many little readers who can enjoy it. Here's what they had to say:

TEN ON THE SLED
Author: Norman, Kim
Illustrator: Woodruff, Liza

Review Date: October 1, 2010
Publisher:Sterling
Pages: 32
Price ( Hardback ): $14.95
Publication Date: October 1, 2010
ISBN ( Hardback ): 978-1-4027-7076-0
Category: Picture Books
Classification: Seasons

A caribou, polar bear, moose, wolf, walrus, squirrel, bighorn sheep, fox, hare and seal all pile onto a toboggan, beginning a North Country riff on the familiar chant: “There were TEN on the sled / and the caribou said, / ‘Slip over! Slide over!’ / So they all slid over, / and Seal spilled out.” One by one, the animals tumble off, each with a different active verb (Hare hops out, Sheep shoots out, Walrus whirls out, etc.). The final line of each stanza is printed with lively disorder, swooping, jumping and sliding on the page. Woodruff adds extra humor by collecting all of the fallen animals in an increasingly bigger snowball that rolls down the hill alongside the toboggan. What with animal identification, counting, vocabulary building and print awareness all scaffolded on a can’t-lose rhyme, this one’s a keeper. (Picture book. 3-6)